Impact of COVID-19 Controls on the Use of Illicit Drugs and Alcohol in Australia,Environmental Science & Technology Letters

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Impact of COVID-19 Controls on the Use of Illicit Drugs and Alcohol in Australia
Environmental Science & Technology Letters ( IF 8.9 ) Pub Date : 2021-08-10 , DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00532
Richard Bade _{1,

2} , Benjamin J Tscharke ₂ , Jake W O'Brien ₂ , Saranzaya Magsarjav ₃ , Melissa Humphries ₃ , Maulik Ghetia ₁ , Kevin V Thomas ₂ , Jochen F Mueller ₂ , Jason M White ₁ , Cobus Gerber ₁

Affiliation

Methamphetamine, MDMA, cocaine, cannabis, and alcohol in samples from 20 wastewater treatment plants servicing the eight state or territory capitals of Australia were analyzed, with equivalent coverage of >45% of the national population. Trends in drug consumption were calculated and assessed from samples collected from 2016 to 2020, with a focus on pre-COVID-19 (August 2016 to December 2019), versus February to June 2020, when Australia observed a nationwide lockdown. Results showed delayed but significant decreases in methamphetamine, >50% in Western Australia. In contrast, significant increases in cannabis in most jurisdictions were observed. This suggests changes in consumption may be somewhat linked to reduced supply of imported substances, with increased use of locally produced drugs. Initial decreases in cocaine and MDMA consumption were evident in many parts of the country, but pre-COVID trends were re-established after April 2020. Interestingly, weekend–weekday differences were narrowed for cocaine, MDMA, and alcohol during lockdown, which might be expected due to bars being closed and social gathering not allowed. With this study providing insight into the first four months of COVID-19 restrictions in Australia, it remains to be seen what the longer-term effect of the pandemic will be.

中文翻译：

COVID-19 控制措施对澳大利亚非法药物和酒精使用的影响

对来自为澳大利亚八个州或领地首府提供服务的 20 个废水处理厂的样本中的甲基苯丙胺、MDMA、可卡因、大麻和酒精进行了分析，相当于覆盖了全国人口的 45% 以上。根据 2016 年至 2020 年收集的样本计算和评估了药物消费趋势，重点关注 COVID-19 之前（2016 年 8 月至 2019 年 12 月），而不是 2020 年 2 月至 6 月，当时澳大利亚实行全国封锁。结果显示，甲基苯丙胺的下降虽然有所延迟，但显着下降，西澳大利亚州下降了 50% 以上。相比之下，大多数司法管辖区的大麻数量显着增加。这表明消费的变化可能在某种程度上与进口物质供应的减少以及本地生产药物的使用增加有关。该国许多地区的可卡因和摇头丸消费量最初明显下降，但 2020 年 4 月后重新确立了新冠疫情前的趋势。有趣的是，在封锁期间，可卡因、摇头丸和酒精的周末与工作日差异有所缩小，这可能是因为由于酒吧关闭且不允许社交聚会，预计会出现这种情况。这项研究深入了解了澳大利亚新冠肺炎 (COVID-19) 限制措施的前四个月，但大流行的长期影响仍有待观察。

更新日期：2021-09-14

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